1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a panoramic roof apparatus for a vehicle. More particularly, it relates to an apparatus for opening and closing a panoramic roof mounted on the roof of a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, sunroofs have been mounted on the roof of vehicles to perform internal ventilation of the vehicle and provide an expansive view to a passenger.
Sunroofs may be manufactured through heat-treatment to endure intense sunlight. Sunroofs may be formed of glass materials that efficiently block ultraviolet rays and infrared rays, or may be formed of high-intensity materials so that passengers may not be injured by glass fragments in case of an accident.
Sunroofs are typically operated in a fully-open type and a partially open type in which only a rear portion of a sunroof is opened to ventilate a vehicle.
Recently, panoramic roofs that can provide a convertible-like comfort by manufacturing most of a roof panel, not only a front portion thereof, using glass and thus maximizing a view are becoming popular.
A panoramic roof has a structure in which most of a roof panel of a vehicle is opened, and is covered with glass. When glass is opened, most of roof is opened to provide an expansive view to a passenger.
Such a panoramic roof is categorized into a two-piece type and a three-piece type according to the number of pieces of glass, and the pieces of glass are operated in a tilting type or sliding type according to its mechanism structure.
A driving unit of an early panoramic roof is divided into a roll blind part and a glass part that require motors for their operation, respectively. Particularly, the roll blind is divided into front and rear roll blinds, and two motors are needed to operate them individually. Accordingly, there is a limitation in that a total of three motors have to be provided.
In order to overcome such a limitation, a panorama driving unit for simultaneously driving a front roll blind and a rear roll blind with only one motor has been proposed recently.
For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a front roll blind 11 and a rear roll blind 12 are horizontally disposed between both rails 10. The front roll blind 11 and the rear roll blind 12 are connected to a worm wheel gear 15 of a motor 14 through cables 13a and 13b, respectively.
In this case, one cable 13a is connected between one side of the front roll blind 11 and one side of the rear roll blind 12, and the other cable 13b is connected between the other side of the front roll blind 11 and the other side of the rear roll blind 12.
This configuration may drive both the front roll blind and the rear roll blind with one motor. The cables can move in opposite directions upon rotation of the motor, thereby allowing the front roll blind and the rear roll blind to simultaneously move in the open or close direction.
However, the driving method of the panoramic roof according to a related art has a limitation in that the front roll blind and the rear roll blind are simultaneously operated.
For example, when a passenger sitting on a front seat opens the roll blind, the rear roll blind may also be simultaneously opened. In this case, a passenger sitting on a rear seat may feel uncomfortable with incident sunlight. Accordingly, the panoramic roof according to the related art is needed to be improved.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.